Kiss me
by chihana
Summary: JayTim; Tim's eyes are really blue and Jason is too tired to deal with this.
1. Chapter 1

Tim was smart and he had the prettiest eyes Jason had ever seen. He was also really angry at the moment, or so it seemed to Jason as the other walked towards him, yelling.

"You could have died back there, you irresponsible-" Tim's voice got drowned out by the sounds of the police cars that ran towards the burning building at his back. It wasn't too difficult for Jason to imagine what was he saying, though. The body language was enough.

"Fuck off, Red, I just wanted to help!" Jason replied, taking off his helmet again to practically cough his lungs out because of the smoke.

Tim didn't seem to hear him and he kept walking until he was in front of Jason. He had taken off the cowl -between the smoke and the fact that they were on a rooftop, nobody would be able to recognice his face- and seemed even angrier up close. Jason barely could see his frown, the only light being at Tim's back, but that only made him look more furious. He was sure Tim's eyes were shining though. Even if it was because the smoke had made him start tearing up. As he said, Tim had the prettiest eyes. So blue you could drown in them -and maybe that was a lame metaphor, so sue him. That's what his eyes looked like to Jason. But he should probably stop thinking about them because he didn't even hear what Tim was saying.

"The bomb was going off, I told you not to get so close, but did you listen?! Of course not!" Tim poked at his chest with enough strenght for Jason to notice it through the kevlar. "If I told you to come help it wasn't so you could risk your life like that! There wasn't anybody inside!"

"Well, you weren't around to tell me that, and I couldn't risk it could I?!" Jason snarled and had another coughing fit. After he recovered, he glared at Tim and shook his helmet, trying to get some ash out of it. "What do you care, anyways?"

"Of course I care!" Jason looked up again, but this time it wasn't because Tim was yelling. His voice sounded different, almost like- breaking? Tim breathed deeply and Jason prepared himself for another round of yelling. "What would have I done then?!"

Suddenly Jason was dragged down by the collar of his jacket and Tim's lips were as soft as he had always thought. And even if both his mouths tasted like ash and smoke the kiss was still too short. Tim let him go and turned around, giving his back to Jason. Jason stood there frozen for a whole minute, more than enough time for Tim to put on the cowl again and shoot his grapple, leaving the rooftop before Jason could say anything.

When Tim had broken the kiss, the light from the fire had showed his face for a moment. There were tears in his eyes. And Jason wasn't going to forget them just like that. He needed a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

When Jason woke up the next day he had to admit to himself that he didn't have a plan. Not even close. Tim had kissed him and disappeared. He had been dizzy from the smoke and, maybe the kiss too, but-

Jason grumbled at the alarm -when had he even gotten that clock?- and realized that he had fallen asleep with his clothes on. So that was the reason he felt so sticky and uncomfortable. And the sheets were grey from all the ashes; it was going to be hell to clean up. Jason had more important matters at hand, though. Specifically, the fact that he smelled like barbecue.

A shower later, he had developed some possible plans. Going to ask Tim out to the movies. Buying him a bouquet of roses and taking him out for dinner. Getting nice clothes and going to Bruce to ask for Tim's hand in-

Jason hit his arm against the sink and the pain made his sleepiness disappear at once. What he was thinking? It had been just a kiss -albeit a nice one- and Tim had run away afterwards. No matter what Jason wanted, Tim clearly regretted kissing Jason. And Jason didn't have any more chances with him that before that night. Resisting the urge to hit his head against the mirror, Jason got dressed in relatively clean clothes and allowed himself to leave both the bathroom and the bedroom looking like a war zone.

He needed a coffee, and a cigarette.

* * *

Jason was sprawled on the sofa, watching the news -no mentions of the fire, thank God for small favors- when the phone rang. Jason grabbed it and looked at the numbers on the screen. He didn't know who was calling -but actually, nobody should have that number. Jason muted the TV and after a couple of seconds he clicked the answer call button.

"Jason?"

Oh, for the love of God. He could have recognized that voice anywhere.

"Dick? How did you get this number? What the fuck do you want?"

"The white pages, how do you think?" Dick huffed in response. Jason didn't have the energy to talk with Dick right then, and he was about to end the call when Dick spoke again.

"It's about Tim."

Jason felt like the room had turned a couple of degrees colder. The apartment was warm enough, and the coffee was still hot, but Jason felt a shiver all the same.

"What about him?" Jason knew he sounded defensive.

"He arrived yesterday from patrol to the cave and... well, he got me worried."

Dick's tone didn't seem accusatory -_yet_, Jason's mind supplied- so he probably didn't know what had happened.

"And why are you asking me of all the people?"

"Jason, Tim never comes to the Manor! He looked so agitated... he told me he had run into you, and then he said that he was tired and..."

Jason felt his stomach drop. No matter all the ways he had imagined a kiss with Tim to be like, he would have rather not have gotten any before making Tim so upset. And to think that for a moment he had hoped... well, it clearly didn't matter now. Jason stared blankly at the wall for a minute before realizing that Dick was still talking.

"...so I was hoping that you'd tell me what had happened?"

"What? There's nothing I'm going to tell you, Dick." Wrong wording, Jason realized right as the words left his mouth.

"So something happened, yes?" Jason could practically hear Dick's triumphant smile then, and he scowled at the receiver. "Jason, you need to come here and talk it out with Tim." Dick's voice had dropped and sounded worried again, and Jason realized that he actually preferred the smile.

"Why the hell do you think that will help, Dickie? I don't know what the damn Pretender is thinking, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm the last person in the world he wants to see today."

Dick huffed, and to Jason's surprise he sounded pretty amused when he talked again.

"We both know that's not true, Jay. You need to come here and talk to him. And I'm sure you both will be thanking me some day."

With that, Dick hanged, and Jason kept staring at the phone, trying to make up his mind. What had Dick meant? Did he know something, or was he just trying to be a nice brother and get everybody together and happy? Damn Dick and his mother hen tendencies. Suddenly Jason remembered the gold feathers and had to repress a chuckle. There was baseball on TV now, it was sunny outside and the coffee was cold. Maybe he could get some groceries and go the Manor to take his chances. Because Dick clearly knew something and Jason had nothing to lose.

But for the moment, he could afford to waste another couple of minutes enjoying his coffee and remembering the taste of Tim's lips against his.


	3. Chapter 3

Even driving as fast as possible through Gotham's streets, at lunch time there was no way to reach Wayne Manor in under an hour. Not even with a custom motorbike that costed as much as Jason's apartment. When Jason finally arrived to the Manor's entrance, Dick promtly informed him that Tim had left already.

"What?! What do you mean with 'you are late'?"

Dick uncrossed his arms, looking like he was about to give Jason a pat on the back. Jason wasn't going to allow it, though. His expression actually seemed to dissuade Dick, at least for the moment, and Dick just looked at Jason with pity without getting any closer.

"I told you. Tim has left already."

Jason hadn't even dismounted the motorcycle yet. With a groan, he put his helmet back on and went to start the engine again.

"Where did he go? The traffic is the same for everybody, at least."

"Jason, you can't follow him." Dick's voice sounded muffled through the helmet.

"Of course I can."

"He's flying to Metropolis right now. I don't care how fast that bike is, you won't be able to reach him."

"The hell is he going to Metropolis for?!"

"Wayne Enterprises stuff." Dick sighed. "Look, he'll be here tonight for patrol, you two can talk then, ok?"

Jason groaned.

"Shut up, Dick." he said when he saw Dick's expression.

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Of course you were." Dick shrugged and stepped away, still smiling.

"Good luck, Jason."

Without another word, Jason revved up the engine and fled back to his safehouse.

The day passed way slower that he would have liked, and the reruns of soap operas didn't help him ease his mind. Before the sun was down, Jason was already suited up and waiting on a rooftop near Tim's apartment. The wind was cold. Jason would blame it for what happened later. Specifically, how he managed to miss Tim getting out of the window and dropping in the middle of a mugging. He had just been trying to light a cigarette and suddenly there were thumps and crashes on the alley down below.

Tim had the situation under control, or so it seemed. Two guys were already on the ground, the potential victim had fleed, and Tim was about to get rid of the third one. The fourth-

Shit.

A couple of shots later, there were four muggers-to-be lying on the floor and a vigilante looking up. Jason, however, wasn't going to show up now -mainly because he wasn't sure if the guy he had shot was still breathing or not, and he wasn't going to be able to ask Tim out or anything similar after killing someone right in front of him.

Even if that someone had been about to shoot Tim himself.

Before Tim reached the rooftop, Jason had gone away, far enough so Tim wouldn't see him without knowing what was he looking for. It wasn't easy to follow him afterwards, though, and when Jason managed to reach him again, Tim wasn't patrolling alone anymore.

While Jason was usually quite fond of Black Bat, keeping their distances, he really wished she was still in Hong Kong now. Tim seemed happy to see her, though, and they worked well together.

That night, instead of doing proper patrolling, the Red Hood limited himself to following Red Robin and Black Bat around the rooftops. They worked quite well together, and Jason didn't need to intervene, satisfied with just being able to see Tim smile from time to time when talking with Cass. It was nice, being able to see Tim just being himself, even if it was under the cowl and cape. Jason hoped he'd see Tim act like that around him, some day.

Before their patrol was over, Jason went back home. It wasn't being a productive patrol, not for him, and he would need to wake up early next day. Because he was going to catch Tim, someway, somehow.

He'd think of what he was going to say when he got there.


End file.
